Bill seeks to place monument to 'unborn children' on state Capitol grounds

Anti-abortion activists and protesters carried posters and shouted slogans in support for the unborn on Friday, when they descended on the nation's capital from various parts of the country for the annual March for Life rally. (Jan. 19)
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The state Capitol in Nashville(Photo: Larry McCormack / File / The Tennessean)Buy Photo

Two Republican lawmakers, who unsuccessfully tried to make the Holy Bible the official state book, are teaming up on a new idea: creating a monument to unborn children.

Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, and Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, have introduced a bill that would require the State Capitol Commission to initiate a plan to commission "a memorial in dedication to and in recognition of unborn children in this state."

The commission would be required to solicit public input for developing a plan, which would include design proposals. The memorial would be located on the grounds of the state Capitol, according to the legislation.

The legislation, HB 2381, does not go into many specifics other than to say the commission would be able to accept gifts, grants and donations from non-state sources to create the memorial. The bill notes that no state resources should be used to develop and implement the plan.

The bill does, however, say upon completion, the memorial must be named the "Tennessee Monument to Unborn Children."

The memorial would not be without precedent in Tennessee. Founded in 1994, the National Memorial for the Unborn is located in Chattanooga. The memorial, which is a granite wall with names on it, sits on the former property of the Chattanooga Women's Clinic.